Tene Memoria
by silverlovedragoness
Summary: What happens when Astoria dies? Deathly Hallows and Epilogue compatible -DM/HG as well as glimpses of HG/RW-
1. Prologue

**Tene Memoria**  
Post Deathly Hallows and Epilogue DM/HG as well as glimpses of HG/RW

* * *

_**Prologue**_

"Mr. Malfoy, my condolences."

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm so sorry."

"Mr. Malfoy, I understand how you feel."

"Mr. Malfoy, may she rest in peace."

These words reverberated in the front of the hall, where the ornate golden coffin lay.

Hundreds flocked the church, murmuring to the dead woman in the casket. Roses poured upon the woman whom few really knew. Strangers' tears fell on the floor of the church, mourning the loss of a prominent witch in the English wizarding population.

_§-D-§_

Draco stood motionless, looking only at the golden casket, face impassive. One arm hung limply to his side as the other encircled his son's shoulder, comforting the twelve year old. The Potters, Weasleys, Zabinis and a few others he knew stood close around him, shrouding him from the majority of the public who came forth to pay their respects. He wore a navy blue robe on top of his black ensemble, giving him the color of _her _eyes. The color mix of midnight blue and black pearls helped him feel closer to her. The hand on Scorpius' shoulder clenched on the green robe he wore, squishing the velvet plush she enjoyed wearing. A drop of water plopped onto his knuckle, and Draco knew instantly how much Scorpius was hurting. His son, who never cried as a baby, who had always been a happy bouncy blonde child, who had now entered his second exciting year at Hogwarts, was crying. Another tear fell on his hand, and another, and another-until his whole hand was wet with the grief of his son. He pulled the boy towards him and held him close with one arm while the other caressed the small head.

_§-S-§_

As Scorpius looked up to meet Draco's eyes, he saw his own eyes mirrored there. He saw his father, one of the most famous wizards in the magical world distraught with grief. His father's eyes were bloodshot from already crying for hours the days before and the lack of sleep from overworking his sorrows into his profession. Scorpius himself felt the restlessness of his eyes as he went to rub them furiously. Though his teachers had told him he could turn his homework late- that they understood, he had deliberately stayed up late to finish Professor Longbottom's Herbology scroll about mandrakes and Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration chart. He just couldn't sleep. Not when his mother was dead. He shuddered and hiccupped at the same time thinking about the word-"dead".

_§-D-§_

Over the years, Draco had seen much of the same, and had learned to keep his heart cold to the deaths. Of course he had switched sides just before the war had ended, but tragedy had struck fairly quickly. His parents were sent to Azkaban for involvement in the Death Eater activities, while he was given a pardon for helping save Harry Potter's life at some point. He didn't deserve such kindness but accepted it. His mother had confided in him while in her cell when he had gone to see her, "Draco, I love you, and don't you ever forget that your father did once too."

His father barely spoke to him; he was so weakened from not using magic that he was mostly skin and bones. His mother was much the same, though her beauty made her seem less fragile. A year later they had both died, his mother following his father's death out of love. He had lost most of his family in the war and his parents' deaths only made it worse. He learned his lesson to be humane yet harden his heart at the same time. It was a difficult feat, only possible because of his wife's support at the right time, making herself known as the one for him. He had been sorely tempted to follow his mother's example and follow his love, even in death. Only one thing really prevented him from doing so-his son.

He only formed friendships through his son's interactions and wife's insistence. But now that half of his life's worth was gone, he felt empty. He looked slowly around to see the faces of the various people who had come. Some of them he recognized from his daily workplace; others his close friends. Then there was the majority who were just strangers-they came, because 'The great Draco Malfoy's wife' died. He wasn't even sure how they found out where the funeral was. It had probably slipped out of one of his colleagues' mouth. The Daily Prophet had a way with people; he knew that from experience with dear old Rita. He barely read the papers nowadays, so he wondered if it had been published during the last week's issue. Knowing his status, probably. He continued looking around as his son turned back to watch the casket once more. His eyes met _her_ eyes and for a split second, he was hopeful. As she gave a curt nod, his hope was snatched away. He recognized her as Daphne Greengrass, the only one who shared the same eyes as his late wife. His eyes misted, but he blinked furiously to prevent the tears from falling. 'Not now,' he thought to himself, 'wait until Scorpius is gone.'

Slowly, the crowd receded, disappearing after having done their duty to the late Mrs. Malfoy. Blaise touched his shoulder gently and whispered that he had to leave, an emergency had arisen in St. Mungos. Draco nodded. Soon the only people left were the Potters, the Weasleys and Daphne Greengrass. Scorpius sniffled once and then looked at his father, but Draco stood oblivious of the eyes watching him from below and gazed longingly at the casket.

Harry cleared his throat hesistantly and muttered, "Draco, we'll take Scorpius home tonight, let him stay with us. You should come too."

Draco started, and then looked at Harry. He saw the concern etched all over Harry's face and looked down at his son who looked back, tears still forming. Ginny quipped in insistently, "Draco, please, both of you should stay with us today; I want both of you under my care tonight!"

Still looking at Scorpius, Draco opened his mouth and found his voice. "L-let him stay with you, but I want to go home tonight. Please let me be. Thank you for the kindness you've shown, but I'd like to be alone tonight."

Ginny started to protest, but Harry quietly shushed her, saying that was alright and ushered Scorpius to Albus, James, Lily, Rose, Hugo and Ron who were waiting for them at the door. Scorpius murmured, "I love you, Father," waiting for a reply.

Draco murmured, as he held Scorpius close to him again, "I love you too, and don't forget she'll always love you, no matter where she is."

Scorpius hugged him tightly for a minute and nodded. Then he slowly turned and walked towards the doors. Ginny held out her hand, waiting for him. Once he reached her, she put her arm around his shoulder and nodded once, saying bye to Draco. Ginny then ushered Scorpius to door and led the others outside to wait for Harry.

Harry strode towards Draco and put a hand on his friend's shoulder, telling him to take care of himself that night and that the Potter house was always open.

Draco nodded and muttered a quiet 'Thank-you', feeling entirely grateful to his ex-enemy of a long time ago.

After Harry left, only one other person stood in the church-Daphne Greengrass. But she soon trailed along the path everyone else had taken towards the casket and placed a single flower atop it. She then slowly tread across the floor, gently opened the door and left.

Draco heard the door click to a close and was alone. He stepped towards the ornate casket and reached into his breast pocket. As he knelt down, he took out a small box. He opened it slowly and revealed a pair of golden diamond studded earrings shaped as Arabian Jasmines, her favorite flower. A tear sploshed onto the ground, Draco unable to restrain that one tear in. He placed the box delicately next to the single flower placed by Daphne Greengrass and choked back a sob.

"I was going to give this to you for your birthday, but you won't be here for that, so I'm giving it to you here. I hope you like it," he uttered softly between sobs.

Behind him someone softly opened the door and made to step in, but hesitated, hearing Draco's mournful sadness. Then, the person quietly entered, watching and waiting to hear what Draco was going to say.

Draco pulled back from the casket and whispered gently, "I'll always love you, and I'll never forget you, _Astoria_." He crouched over the casket and bawled for the rest of the evening. Meanwhile the silent figure stepped into one of the aisles and sat down, weeping.

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Hi all,

As you can see, this is the Prologue, which means there will be more. But I need reviews to know whether or not to continue. Please offer any thoughts you may have.

~Silver

ps-Thanks to Cherie (my close friend) and Heptagon for inspiring me and beta-ing my story so far.


	2. Chapter 1: Release

So it's been tooooo long! I'm so sorry to all of you who might have followed the prologue; I definitely thought I had given up on the story, but then suddenly got inspired again and decided to continue the story :) I haven't written chapter 2 yet so you'll have to wait for that...but I'm trying to be more thorough this time and am working on a masterplot list so it can be cohesive. So it should flow better after that. Enjoy!

Previously:

_Behind him someone softly opened the door and made to step in, but hesitated, hearing Draco's mournful sadness. Then, the person quietly entered, watching and waiting to hear what Draco was going to say._

_Draco pulled back from the casket and whispered gently, "I'll always love you, and I'll never forget you, Astoria." He crouched over the casket and bawled for the rest of the evening. Meanwhile the silent figure stepped into one of the aisles and sat down, weeping._

Chapter 1

_§-D-§_

Draco started, hearing the intrusion to his own sobbing. Without a second thought, he glanced back towards the sound; upon seeing a mass of curly brown hair hunched over a pew, he felt a surge of pity infusing in his sorrow.

Granger. What a way to return from vacation—to learn that her best friend had passed on.

And Astoria never got to see her best friend's face before closing her eyes forever. Her last night, when the healer had confided in Draco about the fast approaching death, Draco had insisted on calling for Granger to let Astoria die in peace. He was not above being selfish for Astoria. And yet, ever unselfish, Astoria insisted he not, "This is her first vacation since the kids and the divorce; let her have peace for a moment. She'll find out soon enough, and when she does, you'll have to help her get back up."

Oh Astoria. Always so righteous. Even enlisting him to help Granger, when he wasn't even sure he would be able to take care of himself, let alone Scorpius. Tears began to flow more freely as hopelessness set in.

For the evening the two continued to cry until no more tears would come; then they sat, replaying every lovely memory of Astoria they had ever had. Trying to relish the love Astoria had given them.

_20 years earlier_

_§-D-§_

The only word that could describe him at that moment was exhausted. He had just been given reprieve from his sentence in Azkaban thanks to the great Harry Potter and Co. He supposed he should feel grateful, but he couldn't. Not in the least. Not when his parents weren't given the same reprieve. His father and mother were sentenced to 15 and 5 years respectively.

Alright, his father he could understand, but his mother? What had she done wrong? She had saved Potter's fucking life-literally turned the war around-and what did he do to repay her? Put her in Azkaban, that's what. He couldn't believe Potter would shun someone who had done him such a great favor. Made him a fucking hypocrite.

Even if Potter could think to do so, what about the Mudblood? Wasn't she some self-righteous girl with forgiving heart? What a load of hogwash. And Weasley—just wasn't worth his time.

Therefore, no one could blame him for being agitated and rude while exiting the Wizengamot. Especially without his wand. He was released from his sentence but had to live one year without his wand in Muggle London. Because of their "kindness and generosity," they were giving him 24 hours to settle his affairs before being banished for a year. Well that was just great, wasn't it? He couldn't even access his own account nor the Malfoy account in Gringotts, since that was frozen for a year, too. So really, they were just letting him become homeless in the Wizarding world for 24 hours before experiencing the same in the Muggle world. His face scowled in disgust. The Malfoys reduced to this. Poor and alone.

At the exit, he tried to muster up his cold wall of self-importance, but his exhaustion escaped through the cracks as his proud squared shoulders drooped a fair bit while his previously slicked back hair hung in lackluster fringes around his face. Of course, the clouds outside did nothing to steel his resolve. They sneered at him just as the slowly bustling crowd in Diagon Alley began to notice his entrance and jeer.

As he began to walk with no real destination in mind, he sensed, and then felt, the egg pelt and crack on his shoulder, dripping yolk down his Dark Mark. He glared over his shoulder before brushing the egg off and continuing to walk past the Leaky Cauldron. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a woman grab a mopping pail and before he could flinch, flung it towards him.

"Dirty soap to clean you up!" she taunted.

Hair dripping, he swiped furiously at his face to clear the muck. However, the soap stung his eyes so much that his glare was ineffectual. Though indignant at the treatment, he grimaced back his scathing retort and walked on.

He continued to get unpleasant reactions from everyone until he finally turned into an alley to call it a night. Luckily it was no longer winter, so the weather was not entirely unpleasant—muggy if anything. At least he no longer had to live in fear for his life. His parents', yes, but no one could harm them there except their own fears. A cruel fate. He felt guilty towards his mother, an honest woman thrust into a terrible situation; meanwhile he was free. Thinking this, he fell asleep against the decrepit wall.

The next morning he was rudely awakened to a smelly set of drops on his face. Squinting in the sunlight, he saw a barn owl flying away and realized through his morning stupor that he had shit on his face. Lifting his arm to smear it off made his shoulder throb from the position he had slept in. Though he had slept, surprisingly without dreams or nightmares, the exhaustion from yesterday only seemed to have doubled. Judging by the faint bustle of sound, he gathered it to be early in the morning. He still had a few hours before meeting his warden at the border of the Muggle world. He decided to rest a little more, opting the calm alleyway over the negativity he was sure to get outside it.

He must have dozed off, because suddenly the sun and loud flurry of sounds pierced at him. As well a Ministry Howler. Before he could grab at it and open it, it exploded into shreds, shrilly booming, "YOU'RE LATE!" Dazed for a second, he tried to remember what appointment he was supposed to keep after being released yesterday. Right. He was to meet the warden at noon. He scrambled up and collected himself.

Brushing off soot and straightening his robes, he stepped out towards Diagon Alley. Ignoring the stares that were again soon becoming nasty, he strode leisurely in the direction of the brick border. Spotting a mass of curls he groaned to himself. Of course it would be his luck to have Granger for a warden.

_§-D-H-§_

Just as he spotted her, she turned to see him and gave a small wave. He looked away just as her brows furrowed. He increased his pace infinitesimally. Upon reaching the fairly vacant area in front of the border, he found her stiff smile.

"Good afternoon, Malfoy."

"Likewise," he rasped back from his unused voice.

With a start, she took in his appearance and there was a shift in her face—almost a softening if you will. She quickly looked around, her eyes stopping on a spot for a fraction of a second before she went to dig in her purse. She rummaged until she pulled a wallet out with a "Hmph." She hastily and anxiously gave another surreptitious glance around and then opened it to grab something and immediately pressed a wad of paper in his hands, closing his fingers over it.

Upon sudden contact, he flinched back, though her hold kept him from dropping whatever she had given him.

In a frantic whisper she explained, "Look, take it as sudden concern or pity or whatever. I don't know why, and I shouldn't be doing this, but—this is Muggle money. They're called pounds. There's numbers on each bill according to price, so you can pay with these for the time being to get something temporarily. There's about 500 pounds in here, which is a fair bit, so I'd keep it in separate amounts on your person so that a thief might not steal all of it. I don't know why—take care of yourself Malfoy, okay?"

She immediately let go of his hands as if he'd burned her. Swiftly taking out her wand, she tapped a brick on the border and slowly an entrance opened up. As it became large enough to allow him to pass, she gestured, only then noticing him staring at the bills she'd given him. His face started sneering and his hand went to throw it on the ground, but her voice stopped him.

"Don't. I really didn't need to nor should I have given you anything, but I did. Put down your damn pride for a moment and just accept it. Face it, you need it to survive. And there are people who want you to survive-" With that last sentence, her eyes became wide and her mouth clamped shut as if she hadn't meant to say it.

He gave a sharp nod, clearing his throat to say, "I won't say thanks." And with that he stepped through into a London so windy, that, had he been wearing a cloak, would have billowed out into her face. Before the bricks closed up again, he faintly heard a muttered, "Don't worry Astoria, he'll-"

_§-H-§_

Unbeknownst to him, a shorter, more petite brunette had stepped up and removed her disillusion charm to more fully watch him leave. At that moment, Hermione felt compelled to reassure her new acquaintance of a week. "Don't worry Astoria, he'll make it out alive. His pride will be trampled is all."

Astoria nodded absently, the worry on her face not suiting her young fresh looks. "It's a pity his pride will receive a lesson the hard way. He really can be a good person when comfortable with his company."

Hermione raised her eyebrows in doubt, "Sure that's possible. But he would never find Muggles to be 'company'. Come now, Astoria. Think reasonably."

"Hermione, we have to think optimistically and trust that your immersion sentence will work. Once it works with Draco, we can have even more hope for it to work with others."

Astoria's eyes shone in innocent hope that struck Hermione as naive. After having gone through the war, fighting as much as she had, Hermione felt she could never regain such innocence. "Right. Well, I can't say I'm all that hopeful, just curious to see if Malfoy will change, and if so, how much."

Astoria, realizing Hermione doubted her own brilliant plan, nodded and gave a sad smile."I feel bad we couldn't do anything about his mother, Hermione. She was always nice to me when we made family calls at the Malfoy Manor."

Hermione softened, weary in response. "Not for lack of effort. Harry, Ron and I tried our hardest, especially given how she saved his life. You know how the Wizengamot is, with the likes of Umbridge and such." Her heart went to the younger witch. Having held a torch for the Malfoy heir years before Pansy Parkinson began to drape herself around him like a fur coat, her sincerity had shown through in her earnest plea to help clear both Draco Malfoy and his mother to live a peaceful life. Though he was arrogant and unpleasant most of the time, Astoria had apparently managed to glimpse another part of Malfoy. So she used her resources at the right times, dipping into her Slytherin heritage and Ravenclaw background, to help him and his next of kin.

Hermione held her in high regard even though she barely knew the girl. Perhaps it was her youth and confidence, perhaps it was the refreshing heart of willingness to do whatever she needed to do, that could rival Narcissa Malfoy's (though the former seemed much warmer than the ice queen Malfoy Mistress). She did not know, but she felt she could be fast friends with this young witch as Astoria looked up at her and gave her a small smile of gratitude.

_§-D-§_

Curious at the words he had caught, Draco's mind immediately flitted to the pretty witch who often accompanied her mother and sister to visits at the manor. And it was her face he held in his curious mind as rain started to pour and drench his soul.


End file.
